Warren Moon: Arizona Cardinals suffered biggest offseason losses in NFC West
Jun 17, 2014, 5:37 PM | Updated: 6:39 pm
The Seattle Seahawks, coming off a Super Bowl victory, are dealing with an unhappy Marshawn Lynch.
The San Francisco 49ers, who lost a nailbiter to the Seahawks in the NFC Championship game, will be without the services of Pro Bowl tight end Vernon Davis, who is also holding out for more money.
The 49ers also dealt with some offseason drama courtesy of QB Colin Kaepernick, who recently signed a contract extension.
The point is, the teams the Arizona Cardinals are chasing in the NFC West have had their share of issues over the last couple months, and appear primed to have more problems in the coming weeks.
But none of that compares to what the Arizona Cardinals are having to deal with, according to Hall of Fame QB and Seahawks analyst Warren Moon.
“I think the biggest losses will probably be the Arizona Cardinals,” Moon told Doug and Wolf on Arizona Sports 98.7 FM Tuesday. “Because you lose those two inside linebackers, they’re two very dynamic players.
“You might want to lose one of them but definitely don’t want to lose both of them, and losing both of them, that’s a big hole they’re going to have to fill.”
Moon is referring to Karlos Dansby, who left Arizona for Cleveland as a free agent, and Daryl Washington, who was suspended for the season due to violating the league’s policy on substance abuse.
Last season, the two combined to form one of the best inside linebacker duos in the league, combining for 197 total tackles, 9.5 sacks and six interceptions.
In their place, the team seems ready to turn to second-year pro Kevin Minter and veteran Larry Foote. Minter, a second-round pick out of LSU, played just one defensive snap last season, and Foote appeared in just one game due to injury.
At best, what the Cardinals have is an unknown, though many believe they’re going to suffer a significant drop-off at an important position.
And that, Moon believes, is more damaging than any of the drama the Cardinals’ competition has to deal with.
“Nobody else lost any players,” he said. “If anything, some of these teams gained players. Sam Bradford is coming back from an injury, Michael Sam is added to their football team. Marshawn Lynch is still going to be a part of the Seahawks football team.
“But you guys actually lost two very good players that you won’t have their services this year, so that’s a bigger loss.”
